Boot hang via out-of-range deferred memory PFN
Published Sep 24, 2026 · Updated Sep 24, 2026
Memory initialization flaw in Linux 6.18 allows attackers to crash or hang the system through a crafted CMA boot configuration. In mm/mm_init.c, deferred_grow_zone() advances in section-sized chunks and can store pgdat->first_deferred_pfn beyond node RAM instead of the ULONG_MAX completion marker. The condition requires CONFIG_DEFERRED_STRUCT_PAGE_INIT and CONFIG_CMA, a large CMA reservation, non-section-aligned node RAM, and control of boot parameters; deferred_init_memmap() then hits BUG_ON() or leaves boot waiting indefinitely.
Summary
What happened
Memory initialization flaw in Linux 6.18 allows attackers to crash or hang the system through a crafted CMA boot configuration. In mm/mm_init.c, deferred_grow_zone() advances in section-sized chunks and can store pgdat->first_deferred_pfn beyond node RAM instead of the ULONG_MAX completion marker. The condition requires CONFIG_DEFERRED_STRUCT_PAGE_INIT and CONFIG_CMA, a large CMA reservation, non-section-aligned node RAM, and control of boot parameters; deferred_init_memmap() then hits BUG_ON() or leaves boot waiting indefinitely.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-93227
- Published
- Sep 24, 2026
- Updated
- Sep 24, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- T1499
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- admin
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Sep 24, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Sep 24, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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Is a vulnerable build present?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=3acb913c9d5bd8dcf61677ccba96d349e7681cf8 <45489d4f95802903ab35799b400b346fa4e13151
- Affected versionversion=3acb913c9d5bd8dcf61677ccba96d349e7681cf8 <84339578c2d6936ac3a93cd1f0bbaa3468a988f2
- Affected versionversion=3acb913c9d5bd8dcf61677ccba96d349e7681cf8 <97090500d776c3f6d08e857e3a0a7cf092999094
- Affected versionversion=6.18
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
No CVSS assessment is available in this record.
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Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.
Activity data is delayed. The latest report is Sep 28, 2026.
Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
- QEMU CMA boot-configuration reproducerproof of concept · demonstrated
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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